Aspartame, a common non-caloric sweetener in “light” drinks, sweets and other food products, could be declared potentially carcinogenic by the World Health Organization (WHO), which in mid-July will issue new recommendations on its consumption.
WHO sources confirmed today to EFE that on July 14 two reports will be published in this regard, one of them from the International Center for Research on Cancer (IARC), its branch dedicated to the study of this disease, where the possible effect sweetener carcinogen.
The second study is carried out by the Committee of Experts on Food Additives, jointly managed by WHO and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), where the current recommendations for daily consumption of aspartame will be reviewed taking into account the IARC report.
Since 1981, experts from the WHO and FAO have indicated that the consumption of aspartame was safe “within certain limits”: as an example, they pointed out that the health of an average adult could be at risk if he drank between 12 and 36 cans of soda with this ingredient.
The IARC evaluation was carried out at a meeting of this body from June 6 to 13, while the experts in additives from the WHO and FAO take into account their results -for now not public- at a meeting on June 27. June to July 6, from which the final recommendations will come out.
Both reports are confidential until July 14, the day on which the results will be published by the specialized journal The Lancet Oncology and the official WHO website.
Some experts have already reacted to this information. Rafael Urrialde de Andrés, professor at the Faculty of Biological Sciences at the Complutense University of Madrid and member of the Board of Directors of the Spanish Nutrition Society, has told the Science Media Center Spain that we will have to wait to find out the details of this assessment.
“From there, the Agencies and Food Safety Authorities will have to determine if they reassess, if they prohibit it or if they maintain authorization and under what conditions, if they continue with the same Acceptable Daily Intake or decrease it and to what extent low”, explained Urialde.
Aspartame has been used in the food industry since the 1980s, and together with saccharin it is one of the most used sweeteners.
Last May, the WHO already pointed out that sweeteners are not effective for long-term weight control and can have undesirable effects if used for a long time, such as increased risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and heart disease. adult mortality.
For this reason, he advised against its use and pointed out that, in general, people should reduce sweets from their diet, and should do so from an early age to enjoy better health.
Among the specific products that he advised against were aspartame and saccharin but also acesulfame K, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, sucralose, stevia and its derivatives.
